One of the world’s best basketball players was talking to reporters this past April. His team, the Milwaukee Bucks, had just lost in the first round of the playoffs. A reporter asked if the season had been a failure. Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH-nis ahn-teh-tuh-KOOM-poh) didn’t like the question.

“There’s no failure in sports,” he said. “Some days you are able to be successful, some days you’re not.”

One of the world’s best basketball players was talking to reporters. His name is Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH-nis ahn-teh-tuh-KOOM-poh). He plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. The team had just lost in the playoffs last April. A reporter asked if the season had been a failure. Antetokounmpo didn’t like the question.

“There’s no failure in sports,” he said. “Some days you are able to be successful, some days you’re not.”

–Giannis Antetokounmpo after his team’s season ended with a loss

Antetokounmpo explained that working toward a goal is a step toward success. He thinks that’s true even if you don’t reach your goal. Many experts say that’s a good message to remember when things go wrong. It can help whether you lost a game, didn’t get the highest grade on a test, or baked a cake that tastes awful.

“Failure is not as horrible as you might think it is,” says psychologist Samuel West. 

It may be hard to believe, but experts say setbacks are actually good for us. 

–Giannis Antetokounmpo after his team’s season ended with a loss

Antetokounmpo explained that working toward a goal is a step toward success. He thinks that’s true even if you don’t reach your goal. Many experts say that’s a good message for when things go wrong. That’s not just true when you lose a game. It’s also important to remember if you don’t get the highest grade on a test or bake a cake that tastes awful.

“Failure is not as horrible as you might think it is,” says psychologist Samuel West. 

It may be hard to believe, but experts say setbacks are actually good for us. 

West knows so much about failure that he built his career around it. In 2018, he created the Museum of Failure. The museum includes more than 150 products that flopped. Many of them were made by successful companies like Coca-Cola, Apple, and Google. West says one of the goals of the museum is to show that making mistakes isn’t all that bad. 

“You can fail 1,000 times and still be very successful,” West says.

West knows a lot about failure. He even built his career around it. In 2018, he created the Museum of Failure. The museum includes more than 150 products that flopped. Many of them were made by successful companies. These include Coca-Cola, Apple, and Google. West says one of the goals of the museum is to show that making mistakes isn’t all that bad. 

“You can fail 1,000 times and still be very successful,” he says.

Chances are, your first try at anything new won’t work out well. Your 10th and 20th tries may not go so well either. That’s OK. Making mistakes is an important part of any process. 

“We can learn much more from failure than we learn from success,” West explains.

One of the items at West’s museum is Nintendo’s Power Glove. It was released in 1989. Players wore the glove and used their hands to move characters on-screen. But the Power Glove was a flop. 

Nintendo still believed in the idea, though. After working for years to improve the technology, the company released the Wii in 2006. Nintendo has sold more than 100 million Wiis so far.

Chances are, your first try at anything new won’t work out well. Your 10th and 20th tries may not go so well either. That’s OK. Making mistakes is an important part of any process. 

“We can learn much more from failure than we learn from success,” West explains.

One of the items at West’s museum is Nintendo’s Power Glove. It was released in 1989. Players wore the glove. Then they used their hands to move characters on-screen. But the Power Glove was a flop. 

Nintendo still believed in the idea, though. The company worked for years to improve the technology. It released the Wii in 2006. Nintendo has sold more than 100 million Wiis so far.

Do you get discouraged if you don’t succeed? If so, you’re not alone. The trick is not to give up. 

Fourteen-year-old Dev Shah knows all about perseverance. The first time he competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee he came in 51st place. Last year, he didn’t even make it into the competition. But this year? He was crowned the national champion. After his earlier losses, the victory taught him an important lesson.

“It gave me the reassurance that I should never give up, no matter what,” he told The New York Times.

So, the next time something doesn’t go your way, remember that you haven’t failed. You’ve taken a step toward success! 

Do you get discouraged if you don’t succeed? If so, you’re not alone. The trick is not to give up. 

Fourteen-year-old Dev Shah knows all about perseverance. The first time he competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, he came in 51st place. Last year, he didn’t even make it into the competition. But this year? He was crowned the national champion. After his earlier losses, the victory taught him an important lesson.

“It gave me the reassurance that I should never give up, no matter what,” he told The New York Times.

So the next time something doesn’t go your way, remember that you haven’t failed. You’ve taken a step toward success!